Gidon Kremer masterfully traverses Berg's powerful, haunting, and lyrical composition, while the accompanying BBC documentary (The Secret Life of Alban Berg) explores myriad revelations about the piece and its composer (including the fact that the folk song he quotes alludes to a servant girl with whom he had a child).

"There's a great deal to enjoy here—the slightly haughty description of Hanna [Fuchs-Robettin, the inspiration for his Lyric Suite] by her daughter-in-law Lesley, which, with grudging admiration, helps explain Berg's fascination; Gottfried von Einem's fiery criticism of the completion of Lulu ('almost criminal'); shots of the multi-colored annotations of the Lyric Suite that explain Berg's secret program, his passion for Hanna; an excerpt from the last movement of the Lyric Suite, with Ciesinski singing the unpublished vocal part; and, best of all, a few extracts from Lulu, with Ciesinski and Norman Bailey … specially staged for this film."—American Record Guide